Pieces
by YoshieTaka
Summary: Goerge Weasley has not cracked a single smile since the death of his twin. Hermione Granger is deeply depressed due to the deaths of the both of her parents and the closure of the only romance she has ever had. The two protagonists alienate themselves from the rest of the world, only to stumble upon each other in this new era of their lives.
1. Preface

_This is only a preface to the story, just to see whether anyone would be interested. It is currently the holidays here in Czech Republic and I won't be returning to school anytime soon, and therefore I have come to the decision that it would not hurt to return back to writing. This story will contain a lot of fluff, however, quite a bit of darkness as well. There will not be any "danger cliches", as I like to call them, to pepper up the plot. This piece (caught the reference? *wink, wink*) will evolve only around the twined fates of one Hermione Granger and a George Weasley._

 _Also, if anyone would like to beta for me, I would be more than grateful._

 _Oh, and before I forget! Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter, and therefore neither Hermione nor George belong to me. It is quite a sad thing, actually, because if it was up to me, these two would have ended up together in the books. However, dear Rowling, the queen of our hearts, decided against this wish of mine and so this dream, which I am sure I share with quite a few of you, can only live in our imaginations. And in this story. So - enjoy!_

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The end of the war brought feelings of happiness and closure to those who have fought on the light side. It probably evoked relief in a row of Tom Riddle's followers as well, or so they claimed in front of the honorable judges of the Wizarding Court.

There were, however, those who could not bring themselves to enjoy the perks of freedom fully. One of these unfortunate personnaes had been George Weasley, a broken soul who was robbed of his mate, the one person who understood him the most and who lived in every one and each of his memories which now hunted him whenever he closed his eyes; his twin.

A similar path met Hermione Granger, a heartbroken witch who emerged from the war with no family left, a faint spark of a love that once had been there towards one specific ginger boy, however disappeared quickly due to the horrors that their romance was forced to blossom under, finding herself with a strong and constant feeling of alienation.

The fates that troubled our two protagonists soon made them desperate to escape from the cruel reality. Both of them found themselves moving away from their kindred and friends, away from the pitying stares and maddening whispers.

It will take some time before they discover that maybe, just maybe they do not really have to spend the rest of their lives alone. What will it take, though, before they realize that only together they can fully move on?

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Review, favorite or message me if you would like to see the first part of this story. I, personally, am quite looking forward to how this is going to turn around, however, I would like to have some motivation, you know. ;D So, until next time!


	2. Prologue

_Hey! The feedback you guys gave me was quite pleasant, so I decided to post the prologue. Hope you like it! :)_

 _\- I still don't own Harry Potter, though. :/_

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A nonverbal _Alohomora_ was enough to unlock the doors of her new apartment in the middle of muggle Chicago. She had yet to cast any wards on the flat; in fact, this was the first time she set foot inside. She found the place while at an internet café back in London and spontaneously bought it immediately after having seen the pictures attached under the file of the property.

The location was fine, too. She traveled by the subway to a station situated mere five minutes away by foot, not having been sure where to _apparate_. She probably would not be able to do it without being spotted, anyway; Chicago was the third most densely populated city in the United States. After all, this was why she moved — to cut herself away from magic. The war made her long for the life she had had before her eleventh birthday. This was supposed to be a new start for her. An attempt at burying the memories that haunted her dreams every night.

Finally she picked up her luggage and entered her new flat. With the heel of her shoe she closed the door behind herself and set the single suitcase down by the wall on the right side of the short hallway. On the other side there was a door which led to a small bathroom. For a while she admired the victorian bathtub, black from the outside and white on the inside, before she returned back to the hall.

The corridor opened into what she recognized as the living room from the photos on the rental website. There was only a small love seat which faced a television on the wall. Hermione figured there was not really a need for one as it would probably not work due to her magic which disturbed the electrical field, however, she decided to keep it in case of a need for a muggle to visit her place — to keep up appearances. On the right side of the room there was a fireplace — the only thing that Hermione made sure the flat would entail.

The living room was connected to the dining area. A small table for four stood in front of a bar with two stools which separated the premises from the modest kitchen.

She made a circle around the cooking area, opened and then, with a sigh, closed the fridge with the promise of going outside for a little shopping spree after she finished the tour around her flat, and continued across the living room to the another set of doors. After opening them, she found herself in a cozy bedroom. There was a double bed stuck to the opposite wall and a working desk on the right side of the room. Next to it, there was a small library. Surely it would not fit all of her books, which now lay shrunk in the magically enlarged insides of her suitcase, but with a little supernatural help, she would manage. She looked to the left side of the room where a window was set in the wall with a large windowsill. She pictured herself sitting there with a good book and pledged to buy some fluffy pillows for it.

She went to the hallway for her suitcase and brought it to the bedroom. She set to unpack without using her wand, deciding that she better get used to her muggle environment as soon as possible. It took her only two hours to put everything in its new place as she did not really have many belongings after the war. The majority of what she had owned stayed with her parents whose holdings were confiscated by the Australian government after their deaths as they died without having any immediate family. Or at least such that the officials in Australia knew of. But Hermione did not think of that. In fact, she tried not to think of her parents much because every time she did, it brought great pain to her heart. She, however, could not evade her dreams. And she feared them every day before she went to sleep.

After Hermione unpacked, she changed into jeans, a plain white T-shirt and a warm jacket.

Having locked the apartment, this time with actual keys, Hermione jogged down the stairs and left the building into the chilly Chicago. She quickly discovered that late March still was not what they would considered spring back in Britain. Heck, it even snowed a little — her boots crunched upon the centimeter of snow that blanketed the ground as she made her way through her new neighborhood.

It was not hard to find a grocery store. One was located just two blocks away from her flat and Hermione immediately ducked inside to shield herself from the cold afternoon. She was incredibly sleepy as well, even though she has taken a pepper up potion straight after she escaped the plane, hence she decided to make her shopping as quick as possible. She took a cart at the entrance and bought so many supplies it could serve a bear for its entire winter sleep.

She picked an orange juice from a shelf and, after a brief consideration, put another one in her cart. Suddenly, though, she gasped and almost dropped the bottle — a strange feeling enveloped her. She felt out of place, as if someone was watching her. Unconsciously, she put her hand in her right pocket where her wand rested and tried to inconspicuously look around. It, however, appeared that she was alone in the aisle; her only companion was her cart. She huffed a sigh of relief and quickly left the section of the market, shaking her head at herself for being so paranoid.

She made her way through the rest of the store and picked what she thought was necessary. When she paid for all of the goods, she cast a nonverbal spell on the bags to make them lighter and hurried back to her apartment, not once looking back.

Hermione was not aware of one certain redhead standing on the other side of the street whose stare followed her until she disappeared behind a corner.

It would not be an understatement to say that George Weasley was very much confused.

George stood on the same spot for another few minutes, thinking about what he has just witnessed. Surely it could not have been her, right? Hermione had no reason to be here. It is true that he had not seen her for quite a long time, about half a year, in fact, but… why would she come here, out of all places? And it did not look like she came for a vacation, seeing the amount of supplies he just observed her buy. It was quite clear to him that her trip was meant to be permanent; she was moving to Chicago.

Was she here because of him? Have they sent her on some kind of a quest to find him and bring him home? It was possible… They knew that if it had been a family member, they would not stand a chance. He could not endure their sad, longing looks anymore. And since the escapades with his mother began… it was clear to everyone that living in the Burrow simply was not an option for George anymore. But could they have actually tried to have Hermione bring him back? He could not think about any other explanation to her presence in Chicago.

But then again, no one knew where he was. Only Lee knew that the place George chose to live in was Chicago. Hell, his family did not even know that he moved to the States. Has Lee betrayed him? No, surely not. He knew how important it was for George to have his space. Lee visited him here and then, once a month or so, but George could not bear to see any more familiar faces than his. The unknown comforted him.

He began moving again and started taking slow steps towards his apartment. After some consideration, he decided to strike the option of Hermione coming to Chicago for him out. She probably did not know he was there, and George thought that it would be for the best to leave it like that.

Tomorrow, he would find a new grocery store to shop in.

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 _This is it, then! We have officially started!_

 _What do you guys think about the length of the chapter? Is it alright, or would you like the next parts to be a bit longer? :)_

 _I am still searching for a beta! Also, don't forget to review so I know what you do and don't like. If you have any ideas for the evolvement of the story, don't hesitate to share them with me. :))_


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